Services

Crime Statistics

Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications

Community members, students, faculty, staff and guests are encouraged to report all crimes and public safety-related incidents to Evergreen PD in a timely manner.

In an effort to provide a timely warning to the Evergreen community, and in the event of a serious incident which may pose an on-going threat to members of the Evergreen community, a blast email Crime Alert is sent to all students and employees on campus. The alerts are generally written by the Chief of Police or a designee and they are approved and distributed to the community by College Relations.

Updates to the Evergreen community about any particular case resulting in a Crime Alert may be distributed via blast email, may be posted on the Campus Advisories website or may be shared with the Cooper Point Journal for a follow-up story. Crime Alert posters may also be posted by Evergreen PD in campus buildings when deemed necessary. When crime alerts are posted in campus buildings, they are printed on orange paper and posted in the lobby/entrance area of the affected building(s) for seven days.

Crime Alerts are usually distributed for the following Uniformed Crime Reporting Program (UCR)/National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) classifications: arson, criminal homicide, and robbery. Cases of aggravated assault and sex offenses are considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts of the case and the information known by Evergreen PD. For example, if an assault occurs between two students who have a disagreement, there may be no on-going threat to other Evergreen community members and a Crime Alert would not be distributed.

The Evergreen State College Police Chief or designee reviews all reports to determine if there is an on going threat to the community and if the distribution of a Crime Alert is warranted. Crime Alerts may also be posted for other crime classifications, as deemed necessary. Representatives from The Cooper Point Journal, a student newspaper, The Olympian, a local newspaper and online news organization, and KAOS, the campus radio station, are invited to meet with the Evergreen PD Chief of Police or a designee on a weekly basis to discuss crime on campus, and they decide what information they want to report to the Evergreen community.

Notification to the Evergreen Community about an Immediate Threat

The Emergency Response Team (ERT) and the Marketing, Communications & College Relations receive information from various offices/departments on campus, such as Evergreen PD, or the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). If Evergreen PD or EHS confirms that there is an emergency or dangerous situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of some or all members of Evergreen community, ERT will collaborate to determine the content of the message and will use some or all of the systems described below to communicate the threat to Evergreen community or to the appropriate segment of the community, if the threat is limited to a particular building or segment of the population.

ERT will, without delay and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the judgment of the first responders (including, but not limited to: Evergreen PD, TCSO, and/or the McLane Fire Department), compromise the efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

In the event of a serious incident that poses an immediate threat to members of the Evergreen community, the college has various systems in place for communicating information quickly. Some or all of these methods of communication may be activated in the event of an immediate threat to the Evergreen campus community. These methods of communication include network emails, emergency text messages that can be sent to a phone or PDA, individuals can sign up for this service on the e2Campus emergency notification website. The College will post updates during a critical incident on the Evergreen Campus website. Individuals can call Evergreen’s recorded information telephone line for updates.

Members of the larger community who are interested in receiving information about emergencies on campus should also sign up for the emergency text message system and should use the e2Campus website, Emergency Preparedness / Register for e2Campus Alerts for obtaining updates in the event of an emergency on campus. Evergreen community members are encouraged to notify Evergreen PD of any situation or incident on campus that involves a significant emergency or dangerous situation that may involve an immediate or ongoing threat to the health and safety of students and/or employees on campus. Evergreen PD has the responsibility of responding to, and summoning the necessary resources, to mitigate, investigate, and document any situation that may cause a significant emergency or dangerous situation. In addition, Evergreen PD has a responsibility to respond to such incidents to determine if the situation does in fact, pose a threat to the community. If so, Federal Law requires that the institution notify the campus community or the appropriate segments of the community that may be affected by the situation.

Once the Evergreen Police Department confirms a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of the college community, this system can be activated. The Police Chief or his designee will, without delay, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency. These guidelines are intended to assistEvergreen community members on the use of e2Campus.

E2Campus is intended for use in emergency situations. Frequent, non-emergency use of this system might compromise its effectiveness in a serious emergency situation. E2Campus may be used to provide instructions and information to all or an affected segment of the Evergreen population, during and after an incident where public health and safety may be compromised. The Department of Police Services is the department authorized to activate the e2Campus. The Evergreen Police Chief and/or his designee will provide authorization to activate the system.

This system may also be used for planned emergency events which have the opportunity to affect the entire campus with prior approval of the Police Chief or designee. The system will only be used on a limited basis for planned events such as closures, utility shutdowns or other important safety notices when deemed necessary.

In all potential uses of e2Campus and because emergency incidents can evolve rapidly, additional messages as well as additional systems are designed to quickly disseminate adequate follow-up information to the campus community. Should an incident grow to the local community level, local first responders would be notified through CAPCOM, the consolidated dispatch system for Thurston County. Additional notifications to the local community would be made at the discretion of the Incident Commander and in coordination with Communications and College Relations.

Anyone with information regarding a crime or an emergency should report the circumstances to the Department of Police Services, by phone at (360) 867-6140 or in person at the Seminar I Building, Room 2150, or by contacting the county wide dispatch system by dialing 9-1-1.